Homelessness in Louisville
There are 6,986 people experiencing homelessness in Louisville (2020). 139 of those people sleep outside year-round and many times more than that in temperate weather.
As anyone who lives in Louisville can tell you, temperatures can change from one extreme to the other in a matter of days. Our unsheltered population struggles to survive in below zero wind chills, and heat that can climb to well over 100 degrees.
Through blizzards and tornadoes, torrential rains, and ice storms, they endure.
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Many live in shelters.
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Some live in camps just beyond sight along busy roads we all drive along daily.
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Some eke out the best existence they can in an abandoned home or nestled in a forgotten doorway, hoping a passerby will pity them enough to spare a few cents.
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Some are extremely elderly, completely relying on those around them.
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Some are not yet 18, having fled from an abusive home, half-heartedly telling themselves daily that things are better now. Some are in desperate throws of addiction or bound by severe mental illness.
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Some are children living the consequences of a parent’s bad decision.
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Some are parents living in a car and hiding from the police, lest their children are taken from them, hoping only for a second chance at happiness for their family.
Most of them are just like you and me. They have good days and bad days. They have talents and weaknesses. They hate Mondays and love Fridays. They have friends and they gossip. They love and they fight. They have parents and children and sisters and brothers. They have hobbies and they have a favorite flavor of ice cream. They, just like you, thought this would never happen to them.
Like most urban cities nationwide, Louisville is experiencing an upgrowth in the number of homeless persons residing on city streets. In response to this growing need, Louisville has dedicated $1,000,000 to new initiatives to address this situation, as well as a dedicated office of Community Resilience. Louisville’s network of service providers in the homeless arena work collaboratively to address the needs of our less fortunate citizens.